Could Antisocial Personality Disorder be said to open up medical concerns?

Answer 1

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Health issues; ASPD (Antisocial Personality Disorder).

Let me put it this way.

In 1992, a clinical psychologist -- and his supervisor, a psychiatrist -- diagnosed me as having Antisocial Personality Disorder: that I am a psychopath.

It took me more than TEN YEARS AFTER THAT to finally find someone who was willing to work with me!!!

As for medical issues...

I've had (throughout my life) these things: two MRIs of the brain (ca. 1996 and Summer 2005), numerous CT scans of same and of other body parts, but NO PET SCANS YET!! And more...read on.

To anyone who has had an MRI of the brain -- especially a CLOSED one (as opposed to the now ubiquitous open MRIs) -- the second worst thing (for most people claustrophobic feelings are the first) is the NOISE...

They typically give earphones to block out noise, and the radiologist's instructions will come through on them now and again. They usually ask you from time to time to hold your breath for a moment, to be sure your head is absolutely still.

They may pipe music in through the 'phones, but let me tell you, once that thing gets going, you won't hear any music. Not even if you're listening to heavy metal.

All you will hear is:

"Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr -- WHAMMMM!! Ka-CHUNG Ka-CHUNG Ka-CHUNG Ka-CHUNG Ka-CHUNG Ka-CHUNG Ka-CHUNG Ka-CHUNG...." at a decibel level that you will be quite sure is equal to the noise of an old Concorde -- or possibly a new space-shuttle -- taking off from your backyard.

It goes on and on and ON and ON AND ON until you start thinking you're going to totally lose it, and you have to wonder if this feeling is going to have some influence over what your brain looks like to the machine. Relax; it doesn't. If it were a PET scan, that'd be different. (And less noisy anyway!)

I have had two complete EEG tests (1994 and 2005, if memory serves), both of them about an hour long, with the strobe-lights in my face and such; I reacted strongly to that both times.

I have had a spinal puncture and block (ca. 1997). It was horrible! First off, three different doctors gave me three different and incompatible sets of instructions!

Even after clearing that up, they managed to hit my spine way too high and it sent me into temporary respiratory failure and they had to put me on a ventilator. I was unconscious (and, for some odd reason, restrained!) on a padded gurney for about three hours that time. I'm NEVER having THAT kind of test again!!!! They can look at things in some other way, a less dangerous way. In other health areas, I've had numerous blood tests, EKGs, echocardiograms, cardiac stress tests, one renal flow scan, lots of tests on my digestive organs, and a gazillion ultrasounds of various internal organs including my reproductive system. Plus lots of dental issues, mustn't forget that.
And I had the very unique and educational experience (I say that sarcastically; it was terrible!) of suffering a violent unconscious convulsive seizure RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF A COLONOSCOPY!!!

Wow, that gastroenterologist must've been surprised! But a fast-thinking nurse placed a plastic paddle-like thing in my mouth to press my tongue down. I was also told later that my eyes were wide open and yet only the whites showed. It took me hours to come out of the temporary coma.

I've had other things like moderate surgery and of course numerous medications, to some of which I became lethally allergic.

The above, except mention of the meds, has to do with just TESTING me. TREATING me -- both physically and psychologically -- has proven far, far more complicated.

I have a desire to survive, and over the years I've come to know that in order to survive, I must do whatever I can to avoid the types of reckless death my kind often suffer. And I am drawn to people who have vitality and moral strength.

Physically, I force myself to think about what I'm doing. Because, in my not-so-distant past, I was a monumentally reckless risk-taking adventure-junkie, riding high on endorphins and adrenaline. My landlady (who is ever so much more than a landlady!) has an overmastering conscience. To a lesser degree, so do most other people I meet. What I do -- and evidently I do it well -- is to follow the trajectory a conscience might cause me to tread, but by rote only, not by true instinct. I want the experience of actually connecting to people in the true, strong way my landlady does, and I do want that warmth, but I do not know as of yet how to get it. I'm working on it. My slogan is "Keep Going," a shortened version of the expression "When you're going through hell, keep going!"